Summer is about to begin.. show those blooms!

It's 10:20 PM and it's still 84° according to the online weather! The humidity has been awful all day, too.

Cece, we have tiny mushrooms all over the lawn. The ones in your pot of Brugs looks like some I once saw in my compost bin. Everything is just sooo wet!

It rained on and off all day again today.

cece - that's on of the most interesting fungi I've ever seen.
Looks like we just got the edge of the last rain storm for a few days. Now it's supposed to turn cooler and drier, just in time for me to be too busy with other things to go out and play in the garden.

Nuts, it is, but I planted it at the beginning of the season as a starter perennial, so not sure what it'll do next year. Hadn't known how it would flower, but liked the leaves.

Storm and wind came through , yellow daylily and stargazer lily are about all that remain today.. Oh well,, lots of torn up , storms do that these days ..

OMG, juhur...you mean you lost all your beautiful blooms?!!! I'm sooo sorry to hear that.
At least if the roots are still okay they should come back fine next Spring. Most plants are really resilient.

If you have a lot of bare spots, why don't you fill in with some annuals. There may not be a big selection this late in the season, but you should be able to get the ones you find at great prices. Maybe even plant some containers that you can move around.

I found some really pretty perennials and also annuals in large pots at Lowes last Summer. They had tons of blooms and most were pretty inexpensive, some were even quite cheap, especially the annuals. I left the blooms on and kept them in the pots, then just set them in my garden. At the end of the season, I planted the perennials and this year they're thriving!

If you have a Lowes near by, you might take a look. Sometimes Home Depot, Menards and Walmart can also be good sources for reasonably-priced plants.

We had marble sized hail yesterday followed by a lot of rain in a short time according to my SO, but didn't look at the beds before I left this AM, so may be in for a surprise when I go home.

Two of my zinnia have stood back up and are blooming , The yellow daylily is blooming away ,,
A lot were done blooming The BES , and Coneflowers will be right back ,, it just ratty 'd them ... Besides the Milkweed being broken and torn I don't care that much .. plants are resilient .. that's why they are still here ,, they do better in storms than we do ,, really .. Well trees and replacements by another are about the same(as of nature) ,, ack .....


I believe this to be Lemon-Lime ... today .. it a swamp plant man the dweller feller that laughs ....

And of course , the weeds look better ,; some chicory perhaps ?

Lemon-Lime looks lovely! Oh, yes the weeds...they always survive. Chicory is useful for many things...coffee subsitute and more...I've never tried it, though.

I once read that if you find a weed that the bugs leave alone, you should chop it up, blend it with water and spray it on your plants to repel insects. Problem is some of them can be very strong and I don't want to harm the "good guy" bugs or the birds.

I am so glad for a few blooms when I have them ,, and thank you nutsaboutnature; I was wondering if or what I made you angry at me with or about earlier.? About all the blooms or flowers , The only purchased plants I have are the Agastache the Burgundy Blanket flower and two of the Daylily plants All the others I have grown from seed or paid trade postage for ,
My funds do not hardly even get to Lowes or the HomeDepot Wallmart carries a few things I believe grandma bought the mums there some years ago , most is usually supporting items here though . At lowes I bought the Cutleaf Coneflower not the flower it was tagged as , and the guarantee was no good ...
When things do me that way growing from seed is all right for me .. Would you believe I paid fifteen dollars for a few seeds on the lily auction and have a 2 to 3 hundred $ daylily seedling growing ,, lol stuff I like is way beyond my pocketbook ,, wallet in my case ..
So beautiful to me x Puffer fish ,,
I am not doing anything other than expressing this , When young I use to work it off as it goes .. and pay 10 to 50 cents for things (plants,as seeds were 3 to 5 for a dime) that now seem to be just short of fortunes!!!


This message was edited Jul 11, 2013 3:34 PM

This message was edited Jul 11, 2013 3:36 PM

Here's happy face #1 grown from seed .. Sister wanted this at one of the stores and it was beyond her budget ,, maybe for her birthday ?

( #2 being my mood about all this here)Milkshake down ... on the ground

#3 #4 broken Milkweed #3( remember the butterfly pic from before)
#5 The only hollyhock left standing (amazed it is )

Nutsaboutnature some annuals back up and going

#1 one clump Coneflowers remaining
#2,3,&4 Zinnia

juhur ~ Why on earth would you think you made me angry??? Absolutely not...don't even think such a thing!!! If you mean what I said about all your plants...I meant that as a compliment!! It's wonderful that you've grown so many kinds, especially when so many of them were grown from seed.

So glad some of your plants survived! Is it possible to take a cutting of the milkweed or even the top with the blooms and plant it? Maybe the blooms will survive if that part can grow roots?

Your Hollyhock is a gorgeous color and I love the bright pink Zinnia!!

Thank you for compliment , the reply , I probably mistook the meaning a while ago ..
If I could get the plant part of hollyhock to match the bloom . I would be delighted .. To many plants get ratty !

The syrica that is impossible .. The red milkweed it might be possible but I don't know it if it is and I have never tried doing cuttings of any milkweed ,, They are difficult enough to get started as it is ..
I have the vines everywhere ,, darn uncontrollable rascals !!
Well the red milkweed has never set seed and the other syrica two of them already have the beginning pods I was and hoping for seeds from the red ,, one of them is standing (attempting to anyway) Sometimes they return standing , a wild trait that is enjoyable ..
I saw a black swallowtail and and a hummingbird today !!! Fennel and Tuberosa.

By this time of year a lot of my plants look ratty, too. I cut back some of them when they're done blooming to get rid of the ratty foliage. The new growth usually looks much better and sometimes they'll rebloom.

I've heard Milkweeds can be really aggressive.

I wish I'd see some Butterflies. All I've seen so far this year is about a million Cabbage Whites and one Red Admiral...sigh.

Power went out again right after my previous post , just now back on ...

Some milkweeds can be once they adapt .. your garden will be assimilated !!!

Slow year for Butterflies , Hummingbirds , and the like ..

Wow...and I thought we had a lot of power outages! At least it stays light out pretty late. Do you have gas or electric (or propane) for cooking and water heater?

Don't think I'll be growing any Milkweed! I don't have enough full-sun, anyway. I wonder how it grows in containers?

I missed out on the nasty rain on Weds. Went just south of me. Hope there wasn't too much damage done to your gardens.
I must mention that the lightning bug displays have been fantastic this year! I try to get out there around 9pm and with all of the twinkling "lights", it's better than Christmas.
Balloon flowers and day lily 'Hall's Pink' are blooming. And some of the seed-sown dahlias and zinnias are starting to bloom as well.
When my side garden gets sparse in late summer, I dress it up with painted pots of annuals. Might be a little "kitschy" for some but it adds some whimsy and, most importantly, color. I generally just put a coat of watered down house paint on terracotta pots.

some debris pics

A few more and guess who gets to clean this up ?

Couple more about the same

Whoa! You did get some nasty wind down there. The house is okay?

All is okay .. not as bad as a few miles to the north , no - house damage .
A5ft pile for the saw .. a 7ft pile of twigs for mulch ,(both) ..
Piles do not look that large in the pic ..




Zinnia on the ground . blooming anyway ..

juhur
That's awful!! Was it just wind and rain or a tornado? Microburst? Hail? Glad to hear your house is okay. The other stuff isn't important as long as you're okay and your house is okay.

I Love the Zinnia, though...like a ray of Sunshine!

Only wind . all the other the f1 tornado was Peru -Kokomo area about 35- 40 minutes north of here.
Lot of sunshine , hot weather is back ,, I need more adaptability to get a few things done .
Two of my milkweeds are standing back up (the red) only their leaves are yellow and falling .. Plant stress is showing .
A few of the daylily are blooming today , but they are showing stress effects also .. All those rapid temperature changes that go with all that , upsets them .. me too sometimes ..
Agastache with airy foliage and bloom was not even touched by the wind . can"t see any difference at all. point for the Agastache ..

DAYLILY saying good night .. sigh

Beautiful! What's in the planter next to the Daylilies?

Butterfly Bush ,,, Never has done well either ..
Have some smaller started from cuttings all of last years failed... I am pot stacking hoping for more roots .. Will lift the pot and stack soil around the side of the pot mound when the season is over .. mulch will then go over that ,
I am one zone beyond this plants range ... it is four years or so old now ..

This message was edited Jul 13, 2013 11:49 PM

I'm surprised that you say you're one zone beyond the plant range on the butterfly bush. We grow them here and they basically die back to the ground (unless the winter is mild) and regrow in the spring. Normally decent growers. Have you planted any in the ground yet?
That zinnia is striking!

Their all different some are hardy to zone 3 others only to zone 7 ..
There is no bottom on that planter pot,,, that is in the ground ..

It must be growing over rock or hardpan .. old road or foundation ,, some reason the earth is shallow there .
I was planning a couple of more places for a couple of them , if and when I can ever get my cuttings of it to live ..

Before the voles got to them over the winter, I had taken some cuttings of DD's TN butterfly bush and they were doing pretty well. I took the cuttings a year ago in late TN spring, dipped them in some rooting hormone and stuck them in perlite/vermiculite mix. They rooted pretty nicely over summer and I had planted them in pots by late summer. They even had a few flowers. I think she had gotten the original plant from Bluestone.
Was going to work down in the lower garden today but 1) it's already close to 80 in the shade, 2) it's mosquito heaven down there and I'd have to be covered from top to bottom and 3) there's no breeze to cool down there. Ugh. I think there's an ozone advisory today as well. I have more excuses for not sweating today if I start feeling guilty.

Looked out my window Saturday and found a SWARM of Japanese Beetles devouring the leaves of my weeping cherry. Got after them with insect soap-based spray and didn't see them yesterday, but the top layer of leaves are desimated. Had moved into the house with this plant having it's leaves looking like lace. So will try a systemic next year beginning about July 1. They don't seem to be interested too much in my other landscaping. Must have had at least 100 on the small tree (about 6 ft high).

Yes Stu blink and those things are everywhere .. They once killed a red Maple of mine .. Killed one this morning the other got away ,, About two or three a day going under my foot ...

One of the Butterfly bush cuttings from last week is growing , Good to see new leaves , one of the clematis growing leaves croaked over and died though ,,
Who's to say?

First pile of tree debris got cleaned up and mulched this morning ,,

Stu, I've used "Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control" on and off for years. You mix a small amount of the liquid into a gallon of water and pour it around the base of the tree. Amount varies depending on the size of the tree. When I've used it, it's worked great and it lasts for a year...no mess and no spraying.

Now they've changed it some and created many more products. I have two bottles left because I haven't needed it in a couple of years, so I plan to use up what I have before replacing it. The one you see everywhere now is called "Protect and Feed" and it's in a dry form that you add water to after sprinkling it, but It's possible the one they now call "Landscaping" formula might actually be what I have. It's even supposed to kill "Emerald Ash Borer" and it's super-easy to use.

It just dawned on me that I don't know if Weeping Cherry Trees produce Cherries or if they're strictly ornamental...DUH.
Anyway Bayer is approved for some Fruit trees, but not Cherry. If it's ornamental it's not problem.

In case you're interested, here's a link to their different products:

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/tree-shrub-care/products



This message was edited Jul 15, 2013 2:20 PM

Those suckers fly in right around 6 to 8 ft off the ground here so they're lined up perfectly with the porcelain berry which they prefer although they've discovered my northern highlights azaleas because it's at about the same height. They're not eating Clematis although they will use it to congregate and party.

The nerve of them!! They must think it's their yard!

Some of my flowers today.

More.

And my favorite cat, Blackie.
A big yawn from a hard day of laying around.

Those look real nice CG , Those Asiatic reds are doing everything except speaking Chinese ... WOW !!!

I agree with the cats , nothing like a nice cool porch on a hot day ..